Hasta La Gadget!

Coca-Cola Japan will be getting in on the 3D craze by launching a new vending machine that goes beyond the usual “flat” approach of most models.

From January next year consumers in Japan will start to see the 3D Vis machines around the country, equipped with sleek dynamic “three-dimensional curves” and design.

[Image source]

The beverages manufacturer plans to install 980 thousand of the units by 2020, though the changes are not just aesthetic. They will come complete with LED lighting, mini solar panels and counters showing the social contributions the machine’s sales have made. And it certainly isn’t a surprise to see that these vendors are aiming to be as cashless as possible, loaded with multiple e-money options.

Anyone who has studied Japanese vending machines will also know that they are one of the most innovative sites for Japanese ecological developments. Coca-Cola has already done a lot of work here and the new vendors are definitely not a step in a different direction. They will be using non-CFC refrigerating systems and heat pumps in efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of each machine.

We’ve been blogging about Tenga’s beautifully conceived series of stylish male sex toys since way back, and we aren’t ashamed of it either! There’s something amazing about being able, through good design, to make a socially awkward product palatable enough to be displayed in normal stores next to the toiletries.

“Only in Japan” perhaps, but it’s a testament to sexual openness through consumer products. Now Tenga is collaborating with known fashion designers to create completely original designs for the Respect Yourself Project on World AIDS day.

The five designers were each given a blank slate to design on, which is a trend we’ve seen in packaging a product design from cigarettes to maxi pads (believe it or not).

If you’re free on December 1st, pop by LeBaron in Aoyama for the Respect Yourself Project Party, sponsored by Tenga and the respective design houses, and experience the beginning of global mainstreaming of personal sexual health. That, or the inevitable decline in world populations. Either way, it should be fun!

Canned coffee might seem like a cheap, forgettable product but there is actually a lot of innovation in the area. These efforts from the makers aren’t at all surprising; there are statistics that claim around half of Japan’s salarymen start their working day with a can of coffee!

Dydo have decided to jump on the history bandwagon with their new “Hukkokudo Hero” series, a range of coffee each with a design that pays homage to a Sengoku or Bakumatsu period warrior. As befits a proud samurai, the coffee is a straight-up zero-sugar espresso. Oh, and, yes, you guessed it — one of the featured personalities naturally is Ryoma Sakamoto.

Check out the whole series below…

Actually, this isn’t the first time a coffee-maker has utilized the nation’s love of the past: Georgia created history Twitter stories before to promote an espresso product, and also released a Sengoku series.

However, to be fair to Dydo, the designs do look really good. As you can see the creators have replicated the clothes of the hero right on the can itself, including armor and swords.

Iga in Mie prefecture is famous for its ninja history and, as we well know, Japanese regional towns and cities are very adept at utilizing their culture in the name of souvenirs and merchandise.

On top of the standard t-shirts and stationary, a local firm is now offering Tora no Maki (虎の巻), a thirty-meter roll of double-sheeted toilet paper. We’ve blogged before about political toilet paper and even desperate souls using Twitter to rescue them in understocked lavatories — but we didn’t know toilet paper could be an innovative tourist product too!

[Pic source]

Coming as it does with “ninja mouji” (ninja writing) printed on it, you might be a little adverse to actually using the sheets, though, and not least because it costs 400 yen ($4.6) a roll!

Ninja mouji are codes based on ancient Jindai Moji (Kamiyo Moji), the script said to be used in Shinto shrines even before the introduction of Chinese characters to Japan.

[Pics via Chunichi and d.hatena.ne.jp]

If you don’t fancy reading the language of the ninjas while, ahem, cleaning up in the toilet, you can instead just download them.

Camera fans and retro photography enthusiasts get ready!

This autumn Fujifilm is releasing its new Cheki camera. Following on from the Instax Mini 7S and even the Hello Kitty version (yes, really!), this new piano black mini50S has all the hallmarks of its predecessors: funky Polaroid-style images, a fun chunky shape, and simple cool functions like a double timer. Why take boring photos with a regular digital camera when you have options like the Cheki?

Previously we have speculated whether digital toy cameras are the next boom product. However, Fujifilm is demonstrating that unconventional film cameras with good design can also be a hit.

We also like how Fujifilm has enlisted the help of photographer Yasumasa Yonehara to promote the camera. He took the Cheki and shot some — by his standards, very tame — photos for use with their advertising and packaging.

On sale in Japan from September, the Instax mini50S is now available for pre-order from JapanTrendShop.